Surface roughness data of microsphere-based coatings developed to counter the urban heat island phenomenon

This work presents a dataset derived from the characterization and surface roughness analysis of coatings developed for the mitigation of the urban heat island phenomenon. In detail, these coatings were produced using a black painted aluminium layer with the surface application of ceramic microspheres and chrome steel grit, both in three different sizes, i.e. a small, a medium, and a large one. The aim of the dataset is to demonstrate how the different types of material applied influences the surface topography and affects roughness in comparison to a reference sample. The analysis was carried out with the NANOVEA Jr25 profilometer, which allowed the collection of useful data for the evaluation of the main surface parameters and the precise measurement of the height and distribution of micro-irregularities. The adopted approach ensured the accurate representation of the surface microstructure, and the dataset obtained was processed with the Mountains8 software to obtain height and hybrid parameters. Analysing the dataset in detail, the samples with ceramic microspheres show a lower roughness than those with steel grit. This reduction in roughness may contribute to improved optical and radiative properties of the surfaces, making ceramic microspheres suitable for radiative cooling applications and mitigation of the urban heat island effect.